Delta tests biometric bag drops

Delta Air Lines is testing a facial-recognition self-serve luggage drop this summer at the Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) hub it acquired when it merged with Northwest Airlines a few years back. In what Delta calls a “first for U.S. carriers”,  the system allows passengers to check their own belly bags, the ones that go in the baggage hold. The self-serve set-up is designed to match passengers to their passport photos via facial recognition techniques. The initiative is part of Delta’s overall philosophy of streamlining as much of the check-in and luggage process as possible. “We expect this [$US600,000 at MSP] investment and new process to save customers time,” says Gareth Joyce the airline’s senior vice president for airport customer service and cargo. Joyce says it frees up customer service agents so they can better help passengers. Delta is looking for passenger feedback just now as the Minneapolis/St. Paul trial continues. The airline asserts studies of self-serve bag drops argue they have the potential to process twice as many passengers per hour as current arrangements. Baggage, of course, is much on the minds of passengers and airlines alike as the United States Department of Homeland Security considers extending the in-cabin laptop computer ban from a handful of Middle East countries to European destinations.